For some time, I’ve been intending to branch out from DBA-style ancient and medieval gaming to the various horse and musket/black powder periods (e.g. Napoleonic’s, American War for Independence and the American Civil War) using DBA period adaptations or extensions so that I could continue to play small armies on small tables, but in different periods. I’d been collecting small Napoleonic armies for a while for use with DBN, and was inspired to take the leap into AWI gaming by Terry Webb and Paul Potter’s postings in Fanaticus.
First step was picking the rules I would use to build the opposing forces, and I settled on either DBN’s AWI variant or Paul Potter’s AWI-DBA, and may end up eventually making a mash-up of the two. Other options considered include the DBA-HX (Humberside Extensions) (or DBA-HX 3.0) version) and Dan Abbott’s DBAWI.
Then came figures and I ended up collecting mostly Essex, Peter Pig, and Blue Moon figures, plus a odd pack of Freikorps15 troops that were pressed into service as British unit from the West Indes. I decided not to model my armies after a specific historical command or campaign…although my choices were heavily influenced by the Southern Theater and especially the order of battle for Guilford Court House. That said, the goal was to provide each army with a set of balanced options (and/or enable a game with 2-3 commands per side) that would allow a variety of match-ups, while keeping a historical flavor and ensuring that both armies fit in a Sterilite storage box. Having the figures and units sorted…then it was off to Paul Potter for painting as a Christmas present to myself. Paul did his usual tremendous job and here are the results:
British High Command – CnC or Headquarters element in center,
between two regular Generals
British Legion (Loyalist Cavalry)
The Artillery (3PDR and 6PDR with crews)
Americans (Left) and British (Right)
Three Regiments of British Regulars screened by Light Foot in open order
The British Elites (L-R_ – Foot Guards, Grenadiers and Highlanders)
Loyalists (Provincial Regiment left and Militia Companies on the right)
Hessian Grenadiers and Jaegers
British Jamaica Rangers, Carolina Corps or other West Indies Units
(depicted using Freikorp15 Sikh War figures)
If I was going to add to this army, my priorities would be more Loyalist units and some Hessian fusiliers to go with the grenadiers and jaegers.
Disclaimer: Students of the Revolutionary War may be quick to point out issues with the uniforms on various units depicted here. I am a sucker for the 1768 Warrant Uniform, and realize it was not typical of troops actively campaigning in the field, especially in the Southern Theater. I also would be the first to acknowledge that the uniforms for the Maryland, Virginia, Light Dragoons and other specified units are not 100% accurate per many standard reference works, but were painted this way to give maximum “morphability” to the army while still making it possible to distinguish one unit from another. I know many gamers take great pride in depicting historical units accurately from the exact make of their weapon to the color of their turn backs and coat facings. For those, I can only ask your forbearance.
FanatiChris 